Introduction:
 “Peace at any
price”... the objective of the Phantom Council's decision! Each planet was to have
offensive teams made up of the best fighters and operatives to ensure compliance from the
populace to the “Ultimate Law”. This concept was implemented to reduce the
warring of planets on each other, throughout the galaxy.Review:
Shoot-outs in space have always been my favorite type of arcade game and have
sucked numerous quarters from my pocket. So... I was particularly excited about reviewing
a game for the PC that had this type of action packed in a piece of software. Finding a good
action (arcade) game is getting harder and harder.
The graphics on the down-looking screen are very clean and
accurately represented. The space craft, Orion Tech’s 99 series 1 - code name :
JAGGER ( Mick’s?), is the first I have seen to utilize VOBA (variable on board
armament) technology which allows switching weapons on-the-fly. This is a really nice
feature that is very much needed with the constant onslaught of attacks, and they almost
always surprise the heck out of you. Besides the weapons, there are other options:
cloaking devices, shields, armor upgrades, advanced turbo, electromagnetic shock,
“beam up” retrieving, and mine dropping (multi-player only).
The overall sound quality was good, however, the
background sound quality was even better - superior to most I’ve heard. Another nice
feature was that during game play you will get communications from other team members,
but, as you might expect, even in the future they're... scratchy.
The means for moving the craft are standard cursor keys and a 360
degree turret for firing with the joystick. This is nice also, because it allows you to
move away from your target (i.e. getting them to chase you) and still pick them off. You
have a circle around your ship that has a green square which allows you to see where your
turret is pointing.
The multi-player network option encourages you to
meet with your "so-called buddy" on a network and blow the dirt bag away in two
different type of games - a straight fire fight or base building.
Summary
Fire Fight is a well-made and innovative game with arcade and some
strategy components. It allows you to play "frag your friends" on a network or
simply react to what the computer throws at you, using weapons which push the envelope of
gaming at the very least, a little.
--Jerry |
